When the world’s top companies want to understand what’s next for their businesses and how they can create the next big breakthrough in their industries, they turn to world-renowned futurist Sheryl Connelly. Connelly is a global trends and consumer expert whose mastery at identifying what’s coming around the corner and the potential influences on customer attitudes and behavioral patterns that directly impact business strategy is unparalleled. From 1996-2023, she was a cornerstone presence on Ford Motor Company’s global trends and futuring team, working her way up the ranks at the automotive juggernaut and becoming the company’s chief futurist. Connelly draws upon her business foresight expertise and experiences at Ford to help organizations in any industry identify and analyze global consumer trends in order to lay the groundwork for long-term, future-focused planning and strategy across the entire company, and anticipate the ever-evolving needs and desires of the people they serve.

A business trailblazer and industry disruptor, Josh Luber combined his passion for entrepreneurship and sneakers to co-found StockX, the world’s first “Stock Market of Things,” with partners Dan Gilbert (co-founder and chairman of Quicken Loans and majority owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers), Greg Schwartz, and Chris Kaufman in 2015. As CEO, Luber led StockX’s rise from idea to billion-dollar company and cemented its status as the leading marketplace for sneakers, apparel, and collectibles in under three years.

Ron Fournier is an award-winning and nationally-acclaimed political columnist formerly of National Journal and The Atlantic. He is a 20-year veteran of the Associated Press who served as their Washington bureau chief. Called “a consistent news-breaker” and “one of the savviest political journalists of his generation,” he is also the author of the best-selling book Applebee's America: How Successful Political, Business, and Religious Leaders Connect with the New American Community. A familiar voice around the Beltway and widely respected by his peers, he is known for his hard-hitting reporting on Congress, the White House, and actions of both major parties. He is currently President at Truscott Rossman.

A beauty industry vanguard, Jessie Hayes-Stallings is the founder and CEO of Skinphorea Facial Bar & Acne Clinic who took her passion for skincare and manifested it into the first facial bar and acne clinic in Metro Detroit — a concept that has made waves in the industry. She has set Skinphorea apart by providing customers with medical-grade skin treatments while creating an elevated and personalized, yet convenient relaxation experience. Not only does she create experiences for Skinphorea’s skincare clients, she also creates opportunities for beauty industry hopefuls. As an investor and a mentor, she has partnered with the state to develop an apprenticeship program that offers aspiring estheticians the opportunity to train to earn their esthetic license at Skinphorea before being offered a full-time position at the company.

Don is a former Apple and Kodak executive and a successful and revered Silicon Valley entrepreneur. The mind behind the world's first consumer digital camera, Strickland rose from an engineer at Kodak to a top executive leading a team of 15,000. He left to become Apple's Vice President of Imaging and Publishing before founding and eventually selling his own start-up, PictureWorks Technology.

Crystal Washington, CSP works with organizations that want to leverage technology to increase profits and productivity! As a technology strategist and certified futurist, Crystal takes complex social media, app, and web topics, and makes them easy to understand and accessible for everyday people. Crystal’s clients comprise Fortune 500 companies including Google, Microsoft, and GE and as a sought-after keynote speaker, she has entertained and educated audiences around the globe. She has appeared in numerous publications including Entrepreneur, Bloomberg Businessweek, and Forbes and is regularly called on by major television networks as a tech expert. Crystal is the author of the books One Tech Action and The Social Media Why.

Erik Qualman, a #1 best-selling author, top technology and motivational speaker, and futurist, has performed in over 50 countries and reached 25 million people this decade. Erik was voted the "2nd Most Likeable Author in the World" behind Harry Potter's J.K. Rowling and has been called the "Digital Dale Carnegie" and the "Tony Robbins of Tech." His entertaining, educating, and empowering style is made possible by his revolutionary video-storytelling capability. Qualman is the chairman of Equalman Studios, which has produced film and animation projects for the likes of Disney, Cartier, IBM, and many other global brands. His best-selling business books are used in over 200 universities and have been translated into eight different languages. Qualman was formerly a sitting professor at Harvard & MIT’s edX labs and has received an honorary doctorate for his groundbreaking work. NYU Stern indicated that Erik Qualman is to digital leadership what Deming is to quality and Drucker is to management.

Mr. Schenker is the President of Prestige Economics and Chairman of The Futurist Institute. He has been ranked one of the most accurate financial forecasters and futurists in the world. Bloomberg News has ranked Mr. Schenker a top forecaster in 43 categories, including #1 in the world for his forecast accuracy in an astonishing 25 categories, including for his forecasts of the Euro, the British Pound, the Swiss Franc, the Russian Ruble, the Chinese RMB, crude oil prices, natural gas prices, gold prices, industrial metals prices, agricultural commodity prices, US new home sales, and US jobs.

For the past decade, Matt has been at the forefront of generational issues, working in various leadership roles at a Fortune 50 company in areas as diverse as marketing, employee retention, and management. Because of this expertise, Matt created his new keynote presentation on generational issues in the workplace, Stop Acting Your Age! An Entertaining Keynote to Help You Avoid Generational Warfare. Matt has quickly become a must-have for any event where audiences want to learn something new while laughing at the same time. You’ll soon learn why one of Matt’s clients has called him “both the funniest and most informative speaker I have ever heard in my life.”